The first time Evie tried ice cream
by leiamoo
Summary: Of *course* it was Doug who introduced Evie to ice cream.


"It's cold and sweet and if you eat it too fast, you'll get a headache," Evie explains to Dizzy when she asks about ice cream. Here's my take on the first time Evie tried it – with Doug, of course. These two are so adorable!

() () ()

Evie sat alone at her usual picnic table on campus. If it were a typical afternoon, she would be joined by Mal, Carlos, Jay, and sometimes Ben, Jane, Lonnie, or Doug. Most of the others were busy at the moment - either in the library, working out, or doing homework in the dorms. So alone Evie sat, with her bedazzled backpack and her tray of lunch in front of her. She had only picked at her food, her mind elsewhere.

"Hey, Evie!" Doug said as he set his lunch tray across from hers.

Evie smiled at him, but it was a quick, slightly sad thing - very different from the bright smiles she often flashed at him.

"Are you okay?" he asked, concerned.

She nodded, then looked down at her food again. The half-eaten salad wasn't appetizing to begin with, and she had no desire to finish it.

"Doug... have you ever tasted ice cream?" she asked, resting her elbow on the table and cradling her chin in her hand. Her voice had taken on the dreamy quality Doug recognized from when she used to talk about falling in love with a prince and moving into a castle. Before she realized she was capable of succeeding without the help of a prince.

"Uh... of course I've had ice cream," he responded, ignoring his own lunch and staring at her. "I guess you guys don't have ice cream on the Isle?"

Evie shook her head.

"What's it like?" she asked, her eyes sparkling.

"Well... it's kinda... hard to explain. It's very cold, but it's not frozen. It's like... soft ice?" he fumbled around, trying to capture the essence of ice cream. Then, an idea struck him.

"Evie, I can't explain ice cream to save my life - but could I take you to get some?" he asked, grinning at the possibility of accompanying the most beautiful girl in the world on an ice cream date.

Evie's face lit up.

"Doug! Really? You know of a place where we can get it?!" she asked in wonder, as if she assumed ice cream was a valuable commodity that was carefully rationed.

"Yes, of course! There's a little ice cream shop we can walk to, if you want..." he said, leaning his head down to inspect her shoes, "...but you might not want to wear heels. It's about a mile away."

Evie's smile did not dissipate, even as she considered the prospect of wearing flats. She nodded, as if committing to something very challenging. She brushed her hair over her shoulder.

"Let's stop by my room and I'll change into my walking shoes."

() () ()

Doug wondered whether Evie had ever walked this far before. She kept making comments about how bright the sun was, how colorful the flowers were, and how clean the air smelled.

"Doug! We should walk more often!" she said excitedly. He laughed and shrugged.

"I would love to walk with you. Any time. To be honest, I didn't think taking a walk would be that enjoyable for you..."

Evie held her arms out wide and spun around on the path, her face turned up to the sky.

"How could this _not_ be enjoyable?" she called, almost singing the words.

Doug shook his head and smiled at her.

_Full of surprises, this one._

() () ()

"Okay, so... which one should I get?" she whispered to him. They were standing in front of the glass, staring down at about twenty different flavors of ice cream. Doug figured the decision would be a tough one for her, although it never was for him - he always chose the same flavor.

Doug cleared his throat.

"Could I have a scoop of peppermint? And she'll have... a scoop of chocolate please."

Evie watched in awe as a man spooned ice cream into a weirdly shaped cup which appeared to be made of pie crust. She gave Doug a confused look as the worker handed it to her with a smile.

"What is this?" Evie asked, trying not to sound disgusted but not having a clue what to do with the thing in her hand.

"Oh! That's a cone. You eat it as you eat the ice cream," Doug explained as he paid the man and accepted his own cone. He led Evie over to a table and sat next to her. She was still staring at him like he was crazy.

"I'm serious, Evie. It's edible."

To reassure her, he took a small nibble from the top of his cone and swallowed it. Evie raised an eyebrow.

"Okay. Here I go."

She raised the ice cream to her lips and bit into it.

"Oh, no, you're not supposed to-" Doug tried to stop her, but it was too late. Evie's face scrunched up and her hand flew to her lips.

"Ow! My teeth!" she complained, staring at the ice cream as if it had betrayed her.

"I'm sorry, Evie - that was my fault. Ice cream is so cold that it can hurt your teeth if they're sensitive. Try licking it instead." He encouraged her, while making sure not to laugh at the situation.

She narrowed her eyes at him, as if she couldn't decide whether to trust his advice. He nodded and gave his own ice cream a lick.

Evie raised her cone again and tentatively licked the chocolate. Then, her eyes widened and she swallowed. She took another lick, and another, and began demolishing the ice cream at a truly impressive speed. Doug reached out and placed his hand over hers, wrapping it around her ice cream cone as well.

"Evie, you might want to be careful. If you eat it too fast, you can get a headache."

"Really?" she asked with wide eyes. Doug nodded.

"I'll be careful." She vowed.

She did not keep her word.

The walk back to campus ended up taking much longer, because her throbbing head was supported by Doug's shoulder the entire way.

Evie didn't seem to mind.

() () ()


End file.
